I like the commencement of your story.

I almost feel that I am moving through the pages of a diplomatic romance.

All that I am praying is that your fellow passenger was a foreign lady--a princess, if possible--with wonderful eyes, fascinating manners, and of a generous disposition." "Then I am afraid you will be disappointed," Norgate continued drily.
"The personage in question was a man whose name was Selingman.

He told me that he was a manufacturer of crockery and that he came often to England to see his customers.

He called himself a peace-loving German, and he professed the utmost good-will towards our country and our national policy.